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Britain's best seaside hotels

Watergate Bay's Extreme Academy for watersports makes the most of its location on one of Cornwall’s best surfing beaches.

13 April 2016 • 7:00am

A guide to the best seaside hotels in Britain, including the top places to stay for families, kids and couples, featuring infinity pools, sea views, excellent fish restaurants, impressive spas and charming rooms, in locations such as Cornwall, Brighton, Norfolk, Suffolk, Dorset, Isle of Wight and Jersey.

Overlooking romantic Mawgan Porth beach, this scintillating eco hotel blurs the boundaries between inside and out, with glass walls, flat roofs covered in sea thrift and infinity pools that seem to reach to the sea. At its heart is its Ayurvedic spa, with pods suspended in the dark for deep relaxation. The Scarlet may be thoroughly green but there’s no sense of a hair shirt approach: once inside this adult-only sanctuary, the feeling is one of soothing, sybaritic luxury.
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With an appropriate beach shack look (bleached, driftwood style bar in the open, sunny Bistro and similar furnishings in the bedrooms) the Gallivant overlooks the golden sands of Camber. Its name (‘to wander about, seeking pleasure’) is appropriate: it started life as the Blue Dolphin Motel, when no doubt it saw its fair share of gallivants and their girls. Now it’s an informal, affordable beachside hotel with a youthful air and plenty of local fish on the menu.
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Gob-smacking ocean views are the heart and soul of this cool property, perched on the edge of a cliff on rocky Pentire Head. Whether gazing out of picture windows, or supping prawns and Prosecco on the terrace, it’s all about the sea and the sunsets and the amazing Cornish light. The coast path is on the doorstep with Fistral Beach, Pentire Head and the white dunes of Crantock sands also close by. The building is a sturdy block of Cornish stonework; a huge timber deck out-front seems to hang over the sea like the prow of a ship. Upstairs, moody midnight blue hallways contrast with the rooms’ airy, pastel hues.
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Loved by generations of the same families, The Blakeney stands in a prime position on the charming quayside in one of the Norfolk coast’s prettiest villages, with wonderful views across the estuary and salt marshes to Blakeney Point. The family-owned hotel has recently had a top-to-toe refurbishment of its bedrooms and sitting rooms, which have pretty fabrics and are white, light and very comfortable. There are panoramic views from the restaurant, bar and terrace.
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A pebble’s skim from the sea, this coastal south Devon hotel means you can doze at night listening to the bells of bobbing fishing boats and the swoosh of the waves - a rare treat in the UK. This 50-room luxury spa hotel has a magnificent view of Salcombe bay, with its twinkling seas, sandy beaches and pastel cottages. Now a chic retreat the hotel offers a luxury spa, a private cinema, a stylish restaurant, and outdoor terraces with panoramic bay views. As you’d expect from a coastal hotel, the menu is seafood-heavy, and the offerings are simple and classic.
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There’s nowhere more fun, and more in the spirit of theatrical, artistic Brighton than this highly individual 23-room hotel at the top of Regency Square, where each bedroom is individually painted by an artist, and more works of art are dotted around the hotel. There are views of Brighton’s seaside from the open-plan breakfast and reception room, a Cocktail Shack and the rustic but chic Set Restaurant for seasonal tasting menus.
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The first boutique hotel to come to Llandudno, this design-led property combines the aesthetics of a Wallpaper* photoshoot with the home-from-home welcome of a family-owned b&b. The owners have clearly invested time and energy in the property — it shows in the eclectic, personal touches. They have sourced vintage pieces from European design fairs and continue to refresh the rooms regularly. It offers a frisson of style for weekend escapers seeking privacy, and a stylish base for exploring local adrenaline and cultural attractions.
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It began life as an unforgiving Sixties building. Four decades on, after major refurbishment, the Atlantic now speaks more of Art Deco and ocean liners, with sophisticated all white reception rooms that are stylish, yet timeless, complemented by beautifully mannered staff who provide the traditional element in a hotel that stays fresh, but refuses to follow fashion. The same can be said for the Michelin-starred cooking of Mark Jordan, which takes its cue from the best produce that Jersey has to offer.
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A traditional bucket-and-spade holiday hotel since the Seventies, today Watergate Bay, run by the present generation of the same family, does its job of appealing to all ages with great flair, with an easy going yet stylish vibe and fun for all the family. Its Extreme Academy for watersports makes the most of its location on one of Cornwall’s best surfing beaches and easily justifies the hotel’s moniker of ‘Ski Resort on a Beach’.
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The house has an elevated position in the coastal village of Penally, one mile south of Tenby and with easy access to the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. The 11 bedrooms are lovely and have views over the sea. It’s a pleasure to dine in the restaurant, with its candlelight and white linen tablecloths. The food is enjoyable and the menu might include dishes such as steamed clams or seared salmon fillet.
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Hedda Hopper, the American actress and gossip columnist, commissioned Sir Clough Williams-Ellis to build this imposing mansion for her in the Twenties. The setting on a wide pebble beach between Romney Marsh and the sea is glorious and peaceful. Inside, it has attractive, homely bedrooms, a cosy bar, fire-lit sitting room, pretty conservatory dining room and top-floor ‘lookout’ with the feel of a beach hut and an old-fashioned telescope for scanning the horizon. On a clear day, you can see France.
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The hotel is set right on the miniscule harbour, with wonderful views from sunrise to sunset from the terrace and glass-walled restaurant/bar/sitting room that runs the entire length of the hotel. Staying at this stylish, laid-back waterfront inn in chic St Mawes is guaranteed to make you feel like a very cool model in a World of Interiors shoot. Skies and sea often look Mediterranean, and sitting in the bar over a perfectly executed Fizz, it can be hard to believe you are in England.
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Designed to resemble a Venetian palazzo, The Pier was built in 1864 to accommodate passengers departing for the Continent. The original Ha’penny Pier is still charmingly intact and gives its name to the hotel’s all-day ground floor bistro. Upstairs is the Harbourside Restaurant, a fine setting for elegant fish dishes. From six of the bedrooms you can soak up the view: the Orwell and Stour estuaries in the distance and tugs and fishing boats beetling about on the water at your feet.
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Set beneath the cliffs on the beach, The Cary Arms’ location is nothing short of spectacular. Rooms are delightful, with retro red leather bed heads, pretty wardrobes and sticks of rock on snow white pillows. Best of all are six new beach huts for overnight stays: luxurious touches abound, including walk-in showers, non-mist bathroom mirrors, soft carpets, White Company toiletries, a Smeg minibar, coffee-maker and sun loungers on the terrace.
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With the shingle beach at its feet and new-minted decoration, The Brudenell is breezy, contemporary and welcoming to all. With wonderful seas views, the airy all-day restaurant makes the ideal setting for fresh, local seafood delivered to the door straight from the boats each morning. Many of the 44 bedrooms are particularly suited to families, with brightly tiled bathrooms and sofa beds for the kids. And Aldeburgh, rich in music, art and literature, is much more than just a seaside resort.
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The location is very peaceful. Queen Victoria acquired the handsome white painted house as a hidden retreat. The undulating grounds are lovely and lead to the RSPB Ynys Hir Nature Reserve at the head of the Dovey estuary. Bedrooms are given the names of famous artists and are loosely themed. The Garden Suites are fabulous: great bedrooms by any standards with cosy sitting rooms and glamorous bathrooms.
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Island hotels have a magic all of their own and none more so than Eriska, connected to the mainland by a rumbly bridge but otherwise a world apart: all yours, with its seals and otters and dreamlike views. After a fine dinner in the turreted Scottish Baronial Big House, built in 1884, guests gather for an Eriska exclusive: badgers feeding from bread and milk on the terrace. There’s plenty to do: golf, leisure centre and multi-purpose sports hall.
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The all-white restaurant and the huge ship’s deck of a terrace are just right for stylish summer dining, with simple but effective menus and excellent breakfasts. Otherwise, you can enjoy Sunday summer barbecues throughout July and August. There is no pool but no matter – instead, meet Pinuccia, the 8-ft resident yacht, which you can sail around Falmouth Bay to the end of September, with the help of the hotel’s skipper.
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The medieval core of a fine 16th-century mansion, the tower was built as a lookout for Conwy Castle. The higher you climb, the older its spiralling staircase becomes: Victorian at the bottom, 13th century at the top. The encircling view is enthralling. As you turn, first Conwy Castle, then Snowdonia, then the sea and Anglesey, then Great Orme, catching the golden light, and lastly Llandudno, with the promise of its marvellous 19th-century promenade, come into view.
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Just outside the East Lothian golfing town of Gullane, overlooking the Firth of Forth and as close as you can get to the Muirfield championship course without actually sleeping on the greens. Edinburgh is only 30 minutes’ drive away and there are plenty of long walks, sandy beaches and appealing coastal towns nearby if you are put off by putting. As well special golf packages, there are other distractions: tennis courts and croquet, fishing, clay pigeon shooting and bicycles by arrangement.
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An Art Deco masterpiece, the Midland’s sleek white curve sits elegantly beside the shining expanse of Morecambe Bay. It offers magnificent views across the bay to the Lake District’s high fells, particularly from the handsome restaurant with its stylish sweep of window walls. After a multi-million pound restoration, the hotel is now as dazzling as it was in its glamorous heyday. There are just 44 rooms (splash out on the sea view) and an atmosphere that's more boutique than grand hotel.
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The seaside setting, tucked into the south-easternmost fringe of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, is charming, and the hotel itself is bright, breezy and contemporary, with a maritime motif. Make the most of the excellent spa, with soothing thermal suite, including an infinity pool, herbal rock sauna and a host of pampering treatments. The 34 bedrooms are divided into three categories – Good, Better and Best – and stylish colours evoke the seaside ambience.
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Opened by Toby Ashworth’s grandmother in 1988, The Nare was the county’s first luxury establishment. Today, Toby continues to uphold her vision of traditional British hospitality, resulting in a hotel to which guests return year after year, drawn by the kindness, the offer of collection by car from their home, the location on stunning Carne Beach and the good food in the splendid dining room. Children are usually part of multi-generational gatherings. Dogs have their own menus.
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California meets the Atlantic Ocean at this terrific hotel on tiny Bryher. It takes commitment to get there by ferry and jeep, but when you do you’ll find nothing but grass, golden sand, a jumble of rocks and the vast ocean. There’s also a pool, tennis court, play area, games and fitness rooms. Dishes such as Bryher crabs and Tresco beef are served in sunny weather on the terrace where you can drink in those astonishing views.
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A one-off. With its authentic Art Deco building and interiors and its determination to recreate a bygone era, this island hotel, reached by sea tractor at high tide, attracts people who love the idea of donning evening dress for dinner, every night, and recreating the past. In its heyday, many celebrities, including Noel Coward, frequented the hotel. Agatha Christie, who wrote two novels here, including And Then There Were None, based on the island, loved it too.
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With its wacky profusion of turrets, gargoyles, stone casements and overlapping tiles on steep roofs, this enchanting 18th-century house will bring an instant smile and thoughts of Hansel and Gretel. As for the views, you’ll be entranced, especially looking across fields and sea to Old Harry Rocks. It brims over with charm: the signature conservatory restaurant; walled kitchen garden; original features; quirkily different bedrooms; spa in a shepherd’s hut and much more. For fun in the sun, look no further.
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With a bar along one wall and kitchen open to view, the simple, glass encased L-shaped dining room of this fun-loving restaurant with rooms on a little bay near Cowes buzzes with life. Owner Ben Cooke no longer mans the stoves but has joined his wife Holly front of house, with no diminishment in the quality of the food: perhaps home-cured Gravadlax, smoked mackerel salad Niçoise and lobster in season, plus locally sourced meat dishes, including excellent steaks, for the less piscatorial.
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